Mac<sup>®</sup> mini Hacks & Mods For Dummies<sup>®</sup>,9780471749004

Mac® mini Hacks & Mods For Dummies®

by
ISBN13: 9780471749004
ISBN10: 0471749001
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2006-01-01
Publisher(s): For Dummies
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Summary

Starting at $499, the diminutive Mac mini-2.5 inches tall, 6.5 inches wide, and 2.9 pounds-is expected to become Apple's bestselling computer, with projected shipments of 100,000 units a month This book offers several projects-some easy, some more challenging-to help people tweak, modify, and transform a Mac mini Modest modifications include creating a Mac mini home theater, an appliance controller, and a travel kit; other more complex (but very cool!) mods require wielding a soldering iron Offers detailed, illustrated step-by-step instructions-including how to open the Mac mini, keep track of pieces, and avoid damage-that enable even novice tinkerers to complete the projects

Author Biography

<b>John Rizzo</b> (San Francisco, CA) bought his first Mac in 1984, and soon began writing about them. A former staff editor for <i>MacUser</i> magazine, John now writes about Mac hardware and software for CNET.com and for Mac magazines. His books include the <i>How the Mac Works</i> series, <i>Mac Annoyances, Mac Toys,</i> and <i>Macintosh Windows Integration</i>. John also publishes MacWindows.com, a web site devoted to helping Macs get along in a Windows world. John promotes his books on this site, which has about 600,000 visitors a year.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1(6)
About This Book
1(1)
Foolish Assumptions
2(1)
What You Don't Have to Read
2(1)
How This Book Is Organized
3(2)
Part I: Owning a Mac mini
3(1)
Part II: Cracking Open the mini
4(1)
Part III: Upgrading the mini Yourself
4(1)
Part IV: Mods for the Home
4(1)
Part V: Modding Your Car for the Mac mini
4(1)
Part VI: Maxi mini Mods
4(1)
Part VII: The Part of Tens
5(1)
The appendix
5(1)
Conventions Used in This Book
5(1)
Icons Used in This Book
5(1)
Where to Go from Here
6(1)
Part I: Owning a Mac mini 7(42)
Chapter 1: Modding a Mac mini: An Overview
9(14)
What's a Mod?
10(1)
Why Mod a Perfectly Good Mac?
10(5)
Saving money by adding options yourself
11(3)
New tricks for a not-so-old mini
14(1)
Changing your mini's look
15(1)
What's in Store
15(2)
Plugging things in
15(1)
Adding software
16(1)
Breaking open the box
16(1)
Replacing parts
16(1)
Planning Your Mod
17(2)
Sizing up the job
17(1)
Estimating time
18(1)
Estimating costs
18(1)
Locating suppliers
19(1)
Setting realistic expectations
19(1)
Software Considerations
19(4)
When to upgrade Mac OS X
20(1)
Researching your software's needs
20(3)
Chapter 2: Completing Your Mac mini
23(16)
The Back Panel
23(5)
Audio
24(1)
FireWire
24(2)
USB 2.0
26(1)
DVI video
27(1)
Modem
28(1)
Ethernet
28(1)
Power
28(1)
What, No Keyboard?
28(6)
USB keyboards
29(1)
Using a Windows keyboard with the mini
29(3)
Mousing around
32(1)
Going wireless
32(1)
Sharing your keyboard/monitor with another Mac or PC
33(1)
Adding a Display
34(5)
Types of video: Digital and analog
34(1)
Choosing a type of video adapter
35(2)
Adding a second monitor via USB
37(2)
Chapter 3: The mini as a Portable Computer
39(10)
Building a Mac mini Travel Kit
39(1)
Oh Solo mini
40(3)
Power adapter: To carry or not to carry
40(1)
Cables
41(1)
Carrying a mini
41(1)
Weighing in
42(1)
Toting the Keyboard with Your mini
43(3)
Mobile keyboards
43(2)
Cables
45(1)
Carrying the mini with a keyboard
45(1)
Weighing in
46(1)
Taking a Display with You
46(5)
Displays you can carry
46(1)
Carrying cases
47(1)
Weighing in
48(1)
Part II: Cracking Open the mini 49(28)
Chapter 4: Opening the Mac mini
51(12)
Going Where Apple Doesn't Want You
51(2)
Keeping the warranty intact
52(1)
Minding your AppleCare contract
53(1)
The Putty Knife: The Official mini-Cracking Tool
53(2)
The best putty knife for the job
53(1)
Modding your knife for cracking duty
54(1)
A Quick Reconnaissance
55(1)
Removing the Outer Casing
56(4)
Discharging static electricity
56(1)
Popping the top
57(3)
Closing Up the Mac mini
60(3)
Chapter 5: First Mods Inside the Mac mini
63(14)
Amazing, Isn't It?
63(1)
Anatomy of a Mac mini
64(5)
Interconnect board
65(1)
AirPort, Bluetooth, and mezzanine board
66(1)
The DVD drive
67(1)
The hard drive
67(1)
RAM
67(1)
The mother of all boards
67(2)
Removing and Replacing the Internal Frame
69(5)
Removing the antennas
69(2)
Tools for removing the internal frame
71(1)
Removing the internal frame
71(3)
Replacing the internal frame
74(1)
Changing the Battery
74(3)
Part III: Upgrading the mini Yourself 77(50)
Chapter 6: String Your Own Wireless
79(12)
What's in a Name
79(1)
Buying and Installing Internal Wireless
80(8)
Installing if you don't have wireless
80(6)
Installing if you already have Bluetooth or AirPort
86(2)
The USB Approach to Wireless
88(3)
USB Bluetooth
88(1)
External AirPort
89(2)
Chapter 7: Upgrading the Hard Drive and RAM
91(22)
Upgrading RAM
92(3)
Mac OS X performance and RAM
92(1)
How much is enough?
92(1)
Buying the right RAM
92(1)
Installing a new RAM module
93(2)
Buying a Replacement Hard Drive
95(1)
Buying a faster drive
95(1)
Buying the right form factor
95(1)
Replacing the Hard Drive
96(9)
Saving your software and settings
97(2)
Tools for removing the hard drive
99(1)
Removing the drive
100(3)
Installing the new drive
103(2)
Turning Your Old Drive into an External Drive
105(1)
Installing Software
106(7)
Installing Mac OS X and applications
107(1)
Installing Mac OS 9 (optional)
108(1)
Using the Migration Assistant with your external drive
108(3)
Manually adding your files and settings
111(2)
Chapter 8: Installing a DVD Drive
113(14)
Reasons to Replace an Optical Drive
113(1)
Buying the Right Drive
114(5)
Determining what you already have
115(1)
Form factor
115(1)
DVD formats
116(2)
Understanding the X factor: Drive speed
118(1)
Replacing the Old with the New
119(10)
Tools
119(1)
Removing the old optical drive
120(3)
Installing the new DVD drive
123(4)
Part IV: Mods for the Home 127(68)
Chapter 9: The Mac mini Home Theater
129(30)
Planning a Mac mini Media Center
129(4)
What's in a home theater
130(1)
What you need
131(2)
Connecting the Mac mini
133(7)
Choosing an audio connection
133(3)
Choosing a video connection
136(2)
Finding a place to plug it all in
138(2)
Controlling the Mac mini
140(4)
Using a TV as a monitor
140(3)
Keyboard and mouse versus remote
143(1)
Creating a Video Jukebox
144(8)
Keeping it legal: Copyright issues
145(1)
Ripping DVD movies
146(2)
Downloading free movies
148(1)
Playing ripped DVD movies
148(2)
Setting up a remote control
150(2)
Adding DVR Functionality
152(7)
The parts of a DVR
153(1)
Comparing DVR boxes
153(4)
Capturing video
157(1)
Online program guides
157(2)
Chapter 10: Automating Your Home
159(26)
About X10
160(1)
What You Can Do
160(1)
What You Need
161(9)
Shopping for X10 hardware
161(1)
Basic X10 hardware types
162(7)
Problem-solving devices
169(1)
X10 software
169(1)
Setting Up Hardware
170(6)
Configuring X10 addresses
170(2)
Connecting the X10 network
172(2)
Installing problem-solving devices
174(2)
Setting Up Indigo X10 Software
176(9)
The Preferences dialog
176(1)
The main Indigo window
177(1)
Trigger Actions
178(1)
An example: Motion-triggered light
179(6)
Chapter 11: Mac mini in the Kitchen
185(10)
The New Kitchen Appliance
185(6)
Entertain yourself while cooking
186(1)
Tap the kitchen database
186(1)
Organize your recipes
187(4)
Finding a mini a Home in Your Kitchen
191(2)
Locating the mini
192(1)
Displaying the display
192(1)
Waterproof keyboard
192(1)
Locating the Mac mini's power brick
193(1)
A Day in the Life of the Kitchen mini
193(2)
Part V: Modding Your Car for the Mac mini 195(56)
Chapter 12: Planning a Mac mini Car Mod
197(14)
What's It Good For? Absolutely Everything!
197(4)
Mini as a car stereo
198(1)
Playing movies for the kids
198(1)
Driving directions
199(1)
Taking (or listening to) a memo
199(1)
Wireless Internet access
200(1)
Office on the road
200(1)
Home on wheels
201(1)
Installation Planning
201(2)
Safety
201(1)
User interface
201(1)
Accessibility
201(1)
Power
202(1)
Heat
202(1)
Vibration
202(1)
Security
203(1)
Internet access
203(1)
Estimating Costs
203(4)
The basics
203(1)
Optional stuff
204(1)
Tools
204(1)
Supplies
205(2)
Hiring the pros
207(1)
Mapping Out mini Locations
207(2)
Video display locations
208(1)
Control options
208(1)
Hack Safely
209(1)
Installation Safety
210(1)
Legal Considerations
210(1)
Chapter 13: Getting Power to Your Car's mini
211(16)
Facts about Your Car's Electrical System
211(2)
Powering the mini with DC-to-AC Inverter
213(2)
The catch: power draw
214(1)
Inverters and space
214(1)
Tapping in to the Electrical System
215(2)
Tapping into the fuse box
215(2)
Other car wiring approaches
217(1)
Powering the mini with a DC-to-DC Converter
217(10)
Carnetix P1900 DC-to-DC supply
218(1)
Connecting the mini to the DC-to-DC converter
219(8)
Chapter 14: Installing a Display and a mini in a Car
227(14)
Types of Displays
227(5)
Cathode ray tubes
228(1)
Plasma flat-panel displays
228(1)
Liquid crystal displays
228(1)
Projection displays
229(1)
Understanding resolution specs
230(1)
Choosing a video connector type
231(1)
Touch screens in cars
232(1)
Mounting Your Display
232(4)
Getting some help
233(1)
On-dashboard mounting
234(1)
In-dashboard mounting
234(1)
Roof mounting
234(1)
Headrest mounting
235(1)
Mounting Your mini
236(2)
The Mini Dock kit
236(1)
Under the dashboard
237(1)
Glove box
237(1)
The trunk
238(1)
Wiring the Display and mini
238(3)
Display power
239(1)
Connecting the display to the mini
239(2)
Chapter 15: Auto Audio and Peripherals
241(10)
Wiring Your Car for mini Audio
241(4)
On the cheap — FM transmitters and cassette adapters
242(1)
Plugging into your car stereo
242(2)
Extreme makeover, car audio edition
244(1)
Gizmos and Gadgets
245(3)
Hub of the universe
245(1)
Voice control
246(1)
Television tuner
247(1)
Connecting to the Internet
248(2)
Long range: Mobile phones and satellite
248(1)
Short-range Internet access via WiFi
248(2)
Navigating with GPS
250(1)
Part VI: Maxi mini Mods 251(74)
Chapter 16: Maxi mini Mod Techniques
253(20)
Soldering Electronics
253(6)
Soldering tools
254(1)
How to solder
255(3)
Desoldering with a braid
258(1)
Practicing
259(1)
Cutting
259(6)
What to wear when cutting
259(1)
Cutting tools
260(1)
Cutting plastics
261(1)
Cutting acrylic
262(1)
Cutting metal
263(2)
Gluing
265(2)
Precautions
265(1)
Gluing plastic to metal and other mixed materials
265(1)
Gluing plastics
266(1)
Acrylic (Plexiglas)
267(1)
Painting
267(6)
Removing paint from plastic
268(1)
Sanding
268(1)
Masking
269(1)
Where to paint
270(1)
Types of paint
270(1)
Applying paint with aerosol cans
271(2)
Chapter 17: Fun mini Case Mods
273(14)
Precautions
273(2)
Preventing overheating
274(1)
Interference with wireless and optical
274(1)
Wrapping and Sticking Stuff to the mini
275(3)
Adding prefab skins
275(2)
Gluing things to the mini's case
277(1)
Painting the mini
278(2)
Leaving it to the experts
278(1)
Painting it yourself
278(2)
Maxi Modding the Outer Case
280(7)
Removing and replacing the plastic top
280(4)
Adding a new top to the outer casing
284(3)
Chapter 18: Mac OS X Hacks and Mods
287(12)
Hacking in Terminal
287(2)
Hacking the Finder and Dock
289(8)
Adding a Quit command to the Finder menu
289(1)
Right and left justification of the Dock
290(1)
Top Dock, disappearing Dock
291(2)
Creating a desktop and sidebar Trash icon
293(2)
Making hidden apps look different in the Dock
295(1)
Showing invisible folders
296(1)
An iTunes Mod
297(1)
Utilities That Change the Look and Feel
297(2)
Adding files and folders to the Apple menu
298(1)
Getting rid of brushed metal
298(1)
Macintosh Explorer
298(1)
Chapter 19: Modding for Bigger Form Factor Hard Drives
299(12)
What's Involved
299(3)
Size
300(1)
Power
300(1)
Converting between IDE connectors
301(1)
Gathering Parts
302(1)
Obtaining a 44-to-40-pin converter
303(4)
What doesn't work
303(1)
Buying a converter that does work
304(1)
Growing your own converter connector
305(2)
Assembling the Mod
307(4)
Transferring data and settings
307(2)
Installing the cable and connectors in the Mac mini
309(1)
Modding the hard drive enclosure
310(1)
Chapter 20: Overclocking for a Faster Mac mini
311(14)
Processors and Clocking
312(1)
Why it works
312(1)
Issues to consider
312(1)
Tools You'll Need
313(1)
Performing the Mod
314(9)
Removing the motherboard
314(2)
Locating the jumpers
316(2)
Determining the jumper configuration
318(1)
Desoldering a jumper
319(1)
Soldering the jumpers in a new place
319(1)
Reassembling the Mac mini
320(3)
Testing Your Pumped-Up Mac mini
323(2)
Part VII The Part of Tens 325(16)
Chapter 21: Ten Web Sites to Go to for Ideas and Help
327(6)
MacInTouch
327(1)
Apple's Macintosh Product Guide
328(1)
Version Tracker
328(1)
Apple Discussion Forum
329(1)
MacMod
329(1)
123Macmini
330(1)
MacVroom
330(1)
Inside Mac Games
331(1)
Radio Shack
331(1)
Tom's Hardware Guide
332(1)
Chapter 22: Ten Other Uses for the Mac mini
333(8)
Safe Surfing Box for Window Users
333(1)
Electronic Scoreboard
334(1)
Computer on a Rope
334(1)
Boat or Small-Plane Mac
335(1)
Mobile Podcast Studio
336(1)
Pro Recording Studio
336(1)
Electronic Sculpture
337(1)
Digital Picture Frame
337(1)
Treffpunkt
338(1)
Bar Punkt
339(2)
Appendix: Keeping the Mac mini Running Smoothly 341(16)
Troubleshooting Problems
342(1)
Troubleshooting Prefs and Other System Files: Fixing Spinning Beach Balls and Other Maladies
342(5)
Identifying and locating preferences files
343(1)
Troubleshooting problem preferences files
344(2)
Troubleshooting flaky fonts
346(1)
A printer problem-solver
346(1)
Repairing Permissions
347(2)
When to repair permissions
348(1)
How to repair permissions
348(1)
Repairing the Hard Disk with Disk Utility
349(3)
When to repair the hard disk
349(1)
Running the Repair Disk function
350(1)
A shortcut for repairing the disk
351(1)
Reformatting the Drive and Reinstalling Mac OS X
352(1)
Backing up the hard drive
352(1)
Erasing your drive
352(1)
Restoring the hard drive
353(1)
Hardware Problems
353(4)
When the hard drive fixes don't work
353(1)
RAM problems
354(1)
Running Apple Hardware Test
355(2)
Index 357

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